When it's all said and done, Marc Loving's jumper with 5.6 seconds left in overtime Tuesday against Minnesota might be looked back at as a defining moment in Ohio State's season.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| at Indiana (11-4, 1-1) | Assembly Hall | Noon | ESPN |
The Buckeyes had blown a 12-point halftime lead and were in danger of falling to 1-2 in the Big Ten as they were on the ropes at The Barn against a pesky Golden Gophers squad.
But when Ohio State needed a bucket, Loving delivered.
"I feel like it gives our team confidence getting our first road victory, just getting a win wearing our red jerseys is big moving forward," Loving said Friday. "It's a milestone for us to keep pushing on to bigger and better things."
The Buckeyes (13-3, 2-1) will look to carry that momentum from the win against Minnesota over to another tough road environment in the Big Ten today against Indiana. The Hoosiers return to Assembly Hall for their first Big Ten home game of the season. Their last time out wasn't pleasant, as they fell on the road by 20 against Michigan State.
Opponent Breakdown
Indiana enters today's matchup having lost two of its last three games after starting the season 10-2.
The Hoosiers have arguably the Big Ten's best backcourt in junior Yogi Ferrell and freshman James Blackmon. Ferrell is averaging 16.3 points and 4.9 assists per game while Blackmon has posted 16.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest.
Those two leading the way are a big reason why the Hoosiers are 10th in the country in points per game, averaging nearly 83 a contest.
"You just look statistically at the amount of shots those two are taking, the percentage that they're shooting, the points that they're scoring," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said. "With that said, there's some other guys out there that can make plays and you've got to attempt to slow those two down the best that you can — not easy — but from our perspective it's going to be all five guys we've got to be aware of where everybody is."
Added Ohio State point guard Shannon Scott: "They're a great team, I think they're really underrated. They have a lot of great shooters on the court. I think the big thing with them is their freshmen don't play like freshmen. They're really in control and know how to play the game."
Buckeye Breakdown
With a 12-point halftime lead, Ohio State seemed like it was headed for a nice statement win against the Gophers. Turns out the statement was made in a different way after Loving's jumper.
The Buckeyes rode a huge first half from freshman D'Angelo Russell, who scored 25 of his game-high 27 points in the game's opening 20 minutes. But in the second half and overtime, it was Loving who led the way with nine of his 13 points including the game-winner.
For the first time this season, Ohio State played man-to-man defense from start to finish and limited the Golden Gophers to 72 points on 45 percent shooting. The Buckeyes also forced 14 Minnesota turnovers.
"I think we're going to play man-to-man, obviously, but we're still working our zone," Matta said of the defensive plans going forward. "If nothing else, we get to go against it every day and I think our zone offense is really good, as well."
Again, Ohio State's rotation tightened in the second half, though. Kam Williams, Anthony Lee and Keita Bates-Diop all played five minutes or fewer and Jae'Sean Tate saw action in just 11.
"It's more game-related," Matta said. "We've got to get Kam and Keita — because they've done a really nice job when they've been in there — those guys have to play more. It's kind of been what it is."
How It'll Play Out
Ohio State got tested Tuesday against the Gophers. It was a game where the Buckeyes could have easily collapsed and blown a lead in a hostile environment.
Hopefully, for Ohio State fans, that's a good sign of things to come as road wins in the Big Ten do not come easy no matter who you're playing. Today's matchup with the Hoosiers will be played in one of the toughest venues in all of college basketball: Assembly Hall.
It will also feature two of the best freshmen not only in the Big Ten, but in the country in Russell and Blackmon. Whichever freshman guard plays better will go a long way in determining who wins this game, but so too will the Hoosiers' home crowd and whether or not Ohio State can handle another hostile environment.
"The crowd is always great there. but I think the biggest thing for us is to try and stay under control," Scott said. "In the last game, the Minnesota game, when they got the game tied up their crowd went crazy. That's going to happen all the time at Indiana, so everybody got a chance to see that a little bit and was able to adjust."
